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101-Staff Report.pdf OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CITY HALL CUPERTINO, CA 95014-3255 (408) 777--planning@cupertino.org PLANNING COMMISSION STAFF REPORT Agenda Item No. Agenda Date: April 26, 2011 Application: Referral of a Director’s Minor Modification, DIR-2010-26 Applicant: Raymond Jerome Lami Application Summary: Referral of a Director’s Minor Modification, DIR-2010-26, modifying 20-U-86, to allow the operation of a farmers’ market at the existing Oaks Shopping Center, 21275 Stevens Creek Boulevard. RECOMMENDATION: Approve Director’s Minor Modification, DIR-2010-26, based on the model resolution (Attachment 1). BACKGROUND: The applicant, Jerry Lami, is proposing to operate an outdoor farmers’ market at the Oaks Shopping Center on Stevens Creek Boulevard at Highway 85 (Attachment 2). In 2000, Cupertino’s original farmers market (managed by a different operator) at Vallco Shopping Center was approved by the Director of Community Development on a temporary trial basis. The market proved to be so successful and popular over the next two years that the organizer and shopping center owner obtaineda permanent approval in 2002. Currently, the Vallcofarmers market operates everyFridayfrom 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Stevens Creek Boulevard and Wolfe Road. The proposed new market at the Oaks Shopping Center will operate in the shopping center parking lot along the Highway 85 sound wall (see Attachment 3for the location map). It should be noted that thearea proposed for the farmers’ market was also part of the area approved for redevelopment into a hotel and mixed usecommercial buildingin 2008, and expiring in 2012. The market would be discontinued once the redevelopment project is underway. The proposed project requires an amendment to the Master Use Permit (20-U-86) for the Oaks Shopping Center. Due to the neighborhood controversy, the Director has referred the project to the the Planning Commission for a final decision. Referral of DIR-2010-26 Oaks Farmers Market April 26, 2011 Page 2 Design Review Committee Hearing On March 17, 2011, the project was presented before the Design Review Committee (DRC) for public testimony (Attachments 4 & 5). At the meeting the Director of Community Development noted that the DRC meeting was only to hear public testimony and that project would be brought before the Planning Commission for review and final action. DISCUSSION Farmers’ Market Operation The applicant isproposing to start with a Sunday market with opening hours from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Typical setup and clean up times are approximately 1.5 hours before and after the opening hoursfor a total timeframe of 7:30 a.m to 2:30 p.m. The proposed market area is the most westerly parking lot aisle, encompassing 105 parking stalls, which the applicant estimates can accommodate a maximum of 60 vendorswho will be offering products such as: fruits/vegetables(Department of Agriculture-certified), baked goods, processed foods, dairy items, hot foods, flowers, plants,arts and crafts, jewelry and photography. The applicant plans to expand the market to a second day on Wednesdays, starting in April 2012, if there is demand for a mid-week, evening market. The Wednesday market hours will be 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with a total timeframe of 1:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., allowing for an hour and a half for setup and another hour and a half for clean up before and after the market hours. Key Issues Staff has identified the following key issues and placed conditions in the resolution to address them. Portable Toilet Facilities - The applicant has proposed providing portable toilet facilities and a hand-washing station for customers located near the shopping center's existing trash enclosure at the northern property boundary. The facilities will be removed after each market event. A condition has been added to prohibit any portable toilet facilities and washing stations along Mary Avenue or other highly visible areas as determined by the Director of Community Development. Loading/Unloading - To mitigate potential noise from loading and unloading the portable facilities and visual effects, staff recommends that the facilities be moved to the opposite end of the market closer to Stevens Creek Boulevard. This portion of the shopping center is partially below the Stevens Creek Boulevard grade and screened by perimeter landscaping and will have minimal visibility to passing motorists. Outdoor Live Entertainment - In order to be consistent with the recent City Council Referral of DIR-2010-26 Oaks Farmers Market April 26, 2011 Page 3 approval of interior live entertainment activities at the Oaks Shopping Center, staff is recommending a prohibition of outdoor live entertainment activities at the proposed market. Cleanup -The applicant will be responsible for cleaning up the parking lot after each market event. Review of Operations- Staff is recommending an automatic one year review of the permit. Parking Presently the Oaks Shopping Center parking supply exceeds the City’s shared parking requirements by about 65 parking stalls. In reality, actual parking utilization at the shopping center is far less than what is required by the City’s parking code. The proposed market site is in an underutilized parking lot area at the Oaks Shopping Center. Vendor parking will be primarily in the market area and secondarily on Mary Avenue. Customers can park in the shopping center parking lot or on the street parking along Mary Avenue, which has no specific vehicle parking restrictions, other than no parking between the hours of 2:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. Staff surveyed parking availability at the Oaks Shopping Center for selectedparking areas close to the proposed market as indicated on the map on an hourly basis thth (Attachment 6) on Sunday morning, March 27, and Wednesday afternoon, April 13, with the following observationsand conclusions (Attachment 7): Sundays On Sunday morning the studied parking areas had little utilization and no one parked in the angular parking spaces on Mary Avenue near the shopping center. Staff counted only the angular parking on Mary Avenueupto the Glenbrook Apartment driveway abutting 10240 Parkwood Drive. During the surveyed hours, there was an average of 265 empty parking stalls in the surveyed shopping center parking areas (not including spaces that were occupied by existing tenants). The shopping center could accommodate the entire market area (105 parking stalls), the vendor vehicles (60 parking stalls) and the estimated parking demand from the additional retail customers (45 parking stalls) and there would still be 55 empty parking stalls in the selected shopping center parking areas and 145 nearby Mary Avenue angular parking stalls. Wednesdays On Wednesday afternoon, there was an average of 211 empty parkingstalls in the surveyed shopping center parking areas. On-street parking on Mary Avenue next to Referral of DIR-2010-26 Oaks Farmers Market April 26, 2011 Page 4 the shopping center was heavily used by De Anza College students and an average of 70 stalls were available of 145 counted.The shopping center could accommodate the entire market area (105 parking stalls), the vendor vehicles (60 parking stalls) and the estimated parking demand from the additional retail customers (45 parking stalls) and there would be one empty parking stall in the selected shopping center parking areas and 70 nearby Mary Avenue angular parking stalls. Traffic The market will be held during off-peak hours for the shopping center. For the purposes of transportation planning/traffic management, the City considers the level of congestion at signalized intersections during the AM and PM peak traffic periods. These peak periods occur on the weekdays during “rush hour”. Sunday morning traffic flows are not a concern because of the absence of employment and De Anza College commuter traffic on Sundays. Wednesday afternoon traffic flows/congestion is also within acceptable City-adopted traffic congestion standards. A traffic analysis was conducted for a redevelopment project at the Oaks Shopping Center, consisting of a 122-room hotel and a 51,000 square foot, mixed use, commercial building. The approved, but unbuilt project would generate more traffic than the proposed farmers’ market (~11,300 square foot vendor area) and the larger project was determined to comply with City traffic congestion standards. Other Agency Comments The following is a summary of comments received from Public Works Department, Fire Department and the Sheriff’s office: City Public Works Department has no concerns about the project other than that vehicular circulation be maintained around the shopping center, which is being accomplished(Attachment 3) Santa Clara County Fire Department has reviewed and supports the project contingent on compliance with fire prevention regulations Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office has no concerns, other than the operator should provide portable toilet facilities and a hand-washing station as proposed Public Outreach & Comments City Noticing Public hearing noticing for the Design Review Committee hearing was a 300-foot radius of property owners around the shopping center perimeter. Further, staff contacted the onsite Glenbrook Apartment manager and provided hearing notices for the renters at the manager’s office. Staff also requested that the shopping center owner inform the center merchants. Also public hearing notices were delivered by staff to each center merchant. Referral of DIR-2010-26 Oaks Farmers Market April 26, 2011 Page 5 Private Noticing The Glenbrook Apartments owner also sent a private mailing prior to the Design Review Committee hearing to numerous residents in the Mary Avenue neighborhood. The applicant distributed a notice for a neighborhood meeting on April 14, 2011 at City Hall; noticing included Cupertino Commons, Glenbrook Apartments, Casa De Anza and the single-family residential neighborhood north of the Oaks Shopping Center to the Mary Avenue Bridge entrance. Three neighbors attended the neighborhood meeting, along withtheapplicant and aCitystaff person. Discussions at the meeting revolved around the farmers’ market operations and parking/traffic implications around the area. Public Comments Public comments against the project (Attachment 8) are summarized as followed. It should be noted that some of the residents’ comments related to a mistaken perception that the project was a festival or flea market and portable bathroom facilities were going to be located along Mary Avenue. Staff has addressed a number of the concerns with additional conditions of approval for the project related to loading/unloading, location of portable toilets and noise issues. Increased noise and disruption Commercialization of neighborhood Decreased privacy, quality of life and property values Increased traffic (pedestrian & vehicle), parking congestion, littering, crime Overflow parking into the Glenbrook Apartments Smells from food trucks and porta-potties Not needed because City has Vallco Farmers’ Market and Whole Foods store Already too many activities in the area: monthly De Anza Flea Market, Memorial Park festivals, Shakespeare in the Park, De Anza Flint Center events, Senior Center activities, proposed dog park. Harm existing Oaks businesses by crowding parking lot. Property owner at Glenbrooks would have to discount rents for apartments along Mary Avenue. The shopping center owner noted that they were not charging the applicant to host the farmers’ market on the property and if the porta-potties are a concern, they could be moved to a different location. Supporters of the farmers’ market had the following remarks (Attachment 9): Like the convenience of walking to a market to buy produce. Won’t waste gasoline driving Needed addition to our neighborhood Referral of DIR-2010-26 Oaks Farmers Market April 26, 2011 Page 6 Need more foot traffic in the shopping center. Like to have fresh, local produce Would benefit the community and give local farmers much needed support Weekend market more convenient for me than the weekday Vallco market Good location for a farmers’ market, within walking distance Provides the neighborhood with a weekly social event Brings shoppers to the Oaks Shopping Center on an otherwise slow shopping day It is something healthy for Cupertino Most market-goers tend to be courteous, law-abiding people who simply enjoy real, local, fresh food Benefits outweigh the impact Staff Recommendation Staff recommends approval of the application, DIR-2010-26 for the following reasons: The proposed farmers’ market provides an opportunity for the community and neighborhood to gather together in a Heart of the City commercial location that has convenient street and freeway access. The proposed market gives residents the convenience of buying farm fresh produce in their own community on a non-work day. Shopping center parking availability is adequate to accommodate the market area, vendors and estimated customer parking demand. The availability of surplus parking on Mary Avenue will ensure that vehicle parking and other encroachments do not overflow into adjacent residential areas. Potential concerns with the sight and smell of portable bathroom facilities can be mitigated by moving them to a different location at the shopping center and requiring their removal at the end of each market event. Potential concerns with trash and littering will be addressed by having the vendors and market operator responsible for clean up after each market event. Potential noise concerns have been addressed with conditions of approval moving loading/unloading nearer to Stevens Creek Boulevard and by prohibiting outdoor live entertainment. Prepared by: Colin Jung, AICP, Senior Planner Reviewed by: Approved by: ______________________________ ___________________________ Gary Chao Aarti Shrivastava City Planner Community Development Director Referral of DIR-2010-26 Oaks Farmers Market April 26, 2011 Page 7 Attachments: Attachment 1: Model Resolution Attachment 2: Project Description Attachment 3: Market Location Map with Vehicle Circulation Attachment 4: Design Review Committee Staff Report dated March 17, 2011 Attachment 5: Design Review Committee March 17, 2011 Meeting Minutes Attachment 6: Parking Availability Area Location Map Attachment 7: Parking Availability Survey Data Tables Attachment 8: Correspondence Opposing the Project Attachment 9: Correspondence Supporting the Project G:planning/PDREPORTS/pc DIR reports/DIR-2010-26